[JohnJake2]

Dear Support (Wayne & Octavio).

Today I experienced a serious problem: I created an app that – based upone an own web service – reads data from a certain web page, stores the result locally (if successfully read). Then it prepares the data in an analysis part and finally brings this to the UI. There is an about dialog and a refresh button in a button bar at the bottom of the page. Furthermore some base navigation.

After exactly one week waiting for review by the Apple Reveiw Team, they had a few minutes of “Review” and finally they canceld my App. In their opinion the App behaves to much like a web page and the content can be provided by Safari as well. I should add more platform-specific API functions in order to enrich the App (which makes no sense at all). I already wrote the same app for Palm Prcs end of last century and the currently available Apps for Android and Windows Phone work exactly the same way.

Since MobiOne will always do something that can basically be done by Safari or any oher browser will lead to the result that every binary from MobiOne will be rejected.

Can the App be installed from somewhere else?

Here is the complete mail from the review team:

Binary Rejected May 31, 2012 12:18 PM
Reasons for Rejection:
12.3: Apps that are simply web clippings, content aggregators, or a collection of links, may be rejected
May 31, 2012 12:18 PM. From Apple.
12.3

We found that the experience your app provides is not sufficiently different from browsing a content aggregator web site, as required by the App Store Review Guidelines.

While your app may facilitate access to content from a range of web sites, even when including features such as Push Notifications, the experience it provides is not significantly different from using Safari. Such apps do not include enough native iOS functionality to be appropriate for the App Store.

We encourage you to review your app concept and evaluate whether you can incorporate additional features to enhance the user experience.

If you cannot – or choose not to – revise your app to be in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines, you may wish to build an HTML5 web app instead. You can distribute web apps directly on your web site; the App Store does not accept or distribute web apps.

HTML5 is the major new version of HTML and enables audio and video to play natively in the browser without requiring proprietary plug-ins. Using HTML5, web apps can look and behave like native iPhone and iPad apps, and using HTML5’s Offline Application Cache, a web app can work even when the device is offline. With web apps, you have flexibility to deliver as much or as little functionality as you desire.

To get started with iPhone or iPad web apps, please review Getting Started with iPhone Web Apps.

For a description of the HTML elements and attributes you can use in Safari on iPhone, check out Safari HTML Reference: Introduction.

[Brandon]

This is a very common problem with many apps. What Apple is saying is that the app is not doing anything that the user cannot do in Safari. While its kind of true that that will be the same for all Mobione apps, its also true of nearly every app in iTunes. I had a the same problem with my first app, for a highs school. It had a number of screens allowing the student or parent to access school pages and information, as well as pay fees, order yearbooks, it had sports blog and a number of other features. But, it wasn’t enough. It was suggested I add some kind of game, like a quiz or something (Apple loves entertainment value). But in the end I added a notepad program that the user can make, save and email notes. It was enough to finally get approved by apple. But, I can say, even just adding a notepad to an app will not get it approved. I did have one rejected that used the same format, though it didn’t have as many screens. In the end it also seems to depend on the reviewer, some are a lot more strict that others.

[Unknown Author]

I’d encourage you to get a bit more adventurous in app features. I’ve had both my apps approved and put up for sale on iTunes (the second one just last night). Both were made completely using Mobione.

I think it’s quite ironic that they talk about the advantages of the HTML5 Offline Application Cache, given the whole debacle with iOS 5.1!

-1TC

[JohnJake2]

Hello.
Thx for your feedback. In some cases, I think Apple is sometimes a bit arrogant.
It has never been a problem placing excatly the same App and it’s functions in the Windows Phone Market or the Android Market.
Why should I add some more functions that are not required? All apps work the same way and have the same structure. Only apple wants to have it more entertained. A quiz, a notepad, adventure things…
If I understood the base thoughts of jQuery Mobile & Co right, it is the target to have developed everything with only one source. That limits all apps since you cannot use device or platform specific functions, but it looks and works the same way on all devices. Looks like these Apps won’t have a future in the Apple Store.

Again, thx for your thoughts…

JohnJake2

[Author]

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